Once upon a time Rare though they had a winner; a game which would end all the confusion between a hardcore console and a kiddie console. Viva Piñata was supposed to change the way we think about Xbox 360 gaming by showing off a title that would make children feel more inclined to game on a “big boys console.”
Unfortunately, execution of Rare’s new franchise title came with a few rough patches, namely Gears of War. Earlier on they had press releases and conferences about how this game was going to interact with users, inspire them to watch Viva Piñata the cartoon to get new recipes for the game which would allow you to create new breeds of Piñata. There were a few flaws in the plan. They didn’t hype the game enough prior to the release and then they decided to launch the game during the over-hyped Gears of War title.
Oddly enough my children (two and four years of age) would rather watch Sponge Bob and Dora reruns than a single episode of Viva Piñata. I thought the show was cute and the bright colors and crazy creatures would draw children like moths to a flame, but they just didn’t care.
My children were too young to play the first Viva Piñata and it didn’t provide enough interest for them to watch me play it and invest the hours. I found the game to be creative and fun… for awhile. Once my happy little Piñatas started eating each other and fighting constantly I realized the joy was gone. If I want to listen to screaming and fighting I’ve got my own children, babysitting Piñatas in a fake garden just wasn’t doing it for me.
Now, Viva Piñata: Trouble in paradise has been given a date of September by Eurogamer. Rare is stating we’ll have 30 new Piñata’s to play with along with new environments, co-op play and other cute options. Admittingly, Drop-in/Drop-out co-op play does sound kind of neat but my emotional scares from the first title have not healed yet.
I was told there would be a great deal of downloadable content (DLC) for Viva Piñata. but found nothing available after I purchased the game and, if content exists now, I’ve long since lost interest in the game. The idea was solid, the demographic was available but the execution went flat. You cannot expect older gamers with children to believe Microsoft or Rare are planning to give us real kids games when you release a single title and show us no other kids games for two years.
At this point, if you’re looking for a console with more kid-friendly gaming you’re going to buy a Wii every single time. Titles on the Wii work for both young adults, teenagers, kids and older grandparents while the 360 goes strong with the 18-34 year-old male demographic.
If you want to be serious about bringing kids on board, Viva Piñata is going to need some friends not just a single sequel. Otherwise, you’re going to find out quick that the 18-34 demographic will simply nod politely and move on to their next great fix… Gears of War 2 perhaps (November, 2008).
If the upcoming Viva Piñata franchise executes like its prior title there will definitely be some trouble in paradise.
The Japanese government has not allowed PlayStation Network to be activated for Japanese gamers yet due to security concerns, and now an expert is advising Australia to follow suit.
Hi guys.
Thanks for the episode. I did not find the time to listen to your show on a regular basis the last months, i am very sorry for that 🙁
I moved to a new city, started a new job and all of that took a lot of time and energy.
I hope i can listen to it more often in the future .. one of you guys is reminding me all the time, everytime there is a new episode .. so i will not miss any 😉
Regarding this episode:
I did not play much, nearly nothing to be honest. I think the only thing i played was 1 or 2 hours of Diablo 4 with a friend because of the new season. I did not find any time for playing Magic the Gathering, which is an indicator for my non-existing free time 🙂
– I was never into CoD and never played any of these, so i don´t really care about releases on whatever platform 🙂
– GTA6 release: i really think its funny and in addition fascinating, that a game has such an impact, that other developers plan aroud the release of such a big title, so that they dont fall apart. I never played any GTA but some of my friends do. I bought GTA 5 some months ago and tried to play it … but as mentioned above: my free time is very limited for activities at the moment 🙁
– Helldivers 2: I heard a lot about it, how much fun it is if you play it with friends and how many hours my friends spend playing it. I think i have to look out for it when i will find some time 🙂
That´s all i can say, because all other topics i never heard of or can´t say anything to it.
Please keep up the good work and stay healthy!
Greetings from germany,
Ralf